Qifa Nabki
Syria
Can Syria be the Linchpin in Obama’s Mideast Strategy?
As someone who came to consciousness during the period of Syrian control of Lebanon, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sympathetic to those Lebanese who regard Damascene politics with an innate sense of trepidation. Growing up in such an environment, I’d heard the old box-of-matches-and-pail-of-water argument countless times, while listening in on discussions … Continue reading
Engaging Syria, part 1
Everybody is talking about Obama’s need to engage Syria. The pro-engagement crowd has grown beyond the initial cadre of Arab-friendly analysts and now includes taste-makers and heavy hitters who have the ear of the President: people like Martin Indyk, Richard Haass, and others. Only a year ago, when Syria Comment and Creative Forum hosted discussions about Syrian-Israeli … Continue reading
Hamas & Hizbullah Go to Washington?
Joshua Landis, over at Syria Comment, has a new post entitled “Will Syria Benefit From Syria’s Invasion of Gaza”. In it, he argues that “the ‘moderates’ are moderate because they have no conflict with Israel. The radicals are radical because they do… Syria is compelled to fan the flames of hatred and violence because it … Continue reading
End of the Arab Cold War? Maybe not…
Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar carried a report today about the surprise reconcilliation that took place at the Kuwait summit yesterday. It claims that Saudi King Abdullah’s speech came out of the blue and was unexpected by Hosni Mubarak, who remained “cold” towards Bashar al-Assad, and then got on his plane and left. What’s more, the Akhbar … Continue reading
Justice, A Dish Best Served with a Side of Popcorn
By now, we’ve all heard about the amazing work performed by Syria’s finest crack squad of counter-terrorism constables, who rounded up the Shaker Al-Absi Gang lickety split and had them confess to their wicked deeds on national television. It looks like the war on terror is finally producing tangible and satisfying results. Sami Moubayed, writing … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…